


a crippling blow

by orphan_account



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-11
Packaged: 2017-12-07 20:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/752886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The end of the world was always coming, but none of them thought they'd be there for it. Yet they were - separated by miles and miles of land and obstacles - unsure of who was left. One thing was certain, anyone could be lost, and they were all trying to find each other. (or also zombies! feelings! kids travelling the nation for their loved ones! and stuff like that)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set some place amid the five-year gap - hence some of the new kids being mentioned and others not. Characters will die (some of them that you like probably) but hey that's angst for you. Enjoy and please feel free to comment your thoughts down below.  
> Suggested listening: "Rivers & Roads" by The Head and the Heart [x]

The room felt still - like the summer heat was sucked the marrow from its bones. It prickled Jade's neck, how wrong it felt that a room she once recognized by the faint smell of burnt southern food now smells like nothing. She ran a gloved hand across the countertop, picking up dust as she went. If she listened hard enough, Jade could hear the whole apartment building creak - ready to give out at the next hardship, she imagined. It pained her to remember the days of past, when she had entertained Artemis by teaching her how to listen through the wall and figure out what television program the neighbors were watching. At the thought, she startled - amazed by the fact that she was nostalgic for such bad times. Shaking herself out of the memories, Jade shouldered her bag and ducked into the hallway.

“Anything of interest?” Jade asked as she pulled gloves back on. Looking up, she found Roy staring at her oddly. He opened his mouth several times to speak before simply grabbing Jade’s arm and tugging her forward.

“Look, I checked as well as I could, but I don’t... Look, don’t get your hopes up,” Roy instructed, leading Jade down the stairs. She stopped on the last step, pulling back from him.

“Red, you know I don’t do hope and we both know that there’s only one person who would make you think I would,” Jade leaned from her husband, eyes meeting his angrily. Roy nodded. Jade’s mouth twisted - from set to some joke of a grin. It was too tight and reminiscent of her mask from days past - all teeth and bone and malice.

“Then I get to save my baby sister,” Jade said. “By whatever means necessary.”

****

\---

****

Wally awoke to the sound of nothing. It was a terrible feeling - like listening to static on that station that used to be a favorite. He runs a hand through his hair, fingers catching on congealed blood - the results of the evening prior. Cautiously, the speedster sat up and looked across the room.

“I’m still here,” Dick’s voice sounded tired, which was understandable. The younger boy had refused to let Wally take either of the shifts the night previously - claiming that he had done enough for one night.

“I keep thinking you’re going to hear Zee baying at the moon and ditch out on me,” Wally teased as he swung his feet over the edge of the couch. Dick turned and managed a half-smile at him. It was an old joke, well-worn between the two - though it had gotten a bit thin in recent weeks.

“You really think she’s in Gotham?” Dick asked, fiddling with the necklace he had taken to wearing. Wally shrugged.

“Last I heard she was staying with Artemis until things let up,” Wally said as he stretched his arms. “Since things never let up, I’d assume she never left. C’mon, don’t look so worried. We’ll get to bust in and save her and Art and d’you know what that’ll make us?”

“Big damn heroes?” Dick replied, smiling more fully this time. He stood up and Wally nearly bumped into him.

“Ain’t we just,” Wally slung an arm around Dick’s shoulders. “Now let’s get on the road.”

****

\---

****

Conner stalked ahead of the rest of his group - mind a million miles away. The ground seemed to shake with his every step - from anger or imagination, Conner could not tell. The air was eerily still and he felt like a bull in a china shop.

“There’s no one here,” Conner said sharply, turning to face Kal and Barbara. The pair exchanged a look and Conner knew before either opened their mouths what was coming.

“Look, Con, we’ve been talking and since Meg, you’ve been...” Barbara bit her lip as she struggled for a phrasing. She wished ardently that she could fiddle with her hair  - it was held up in a cap to keep the red from attracting attention. Usually it was of little matter to her, the nervous habit of twiddling with her hair rarely was necessary - but right now she needed it.

“You’ve been unstable,” Kal finished, after an awkward pause. The undisputed leader of the trio, his words carried weight. Conner stared at Kal, jaw clenching for a moment. It seemed as if the pair would head off - tension finally coming to a head. Barbara readied herself, squaring her shoulders.

“Wait,” Conner barked. He jabbed a finger at the air behind Kal and they all looked where his finger pointed.

A girl staggered out of an alley. Charitable souls would say she had some hint of beauty still with her - the blues of her eyes hummed dimly behind the gloss, her thin arms looked nice if a person squinted and ignored the bones protruding from them. But Conner was not charitable - instead all he saw was waste and ruin.

“Where there’s one,” Barbara groaned, grabbing a length of pipe from its resting place against her shoulder. “There’s more. Let’s axe her and move on.”

“No,” Conner spat the word - as if he needed it out of his body as fast as he could. Barbara glanced at him - the corner of her eyes, head still turned toward the intruder. “I want to find a nest of them. I need to kill something.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously:  
> Jade & Roy found Artemis, but what condition is she in?  
> Dick and Wally headed to find their girls.  
> Barbara, Kaldur and Conner struggled - partially due to losing M'gann at some point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend "Swallowed in the Sea" by Coldplay [[x](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oogso0FtISw)] for background music. Partially because Coldplay is my writing music and partly because this song is really solid.

The wind zipped around Wally’s head - cutting hot against his cheeks. Though he had only been running for a few minutes, the speedster slowed to a stop. Hands on knees, Wally breathed heavily, cursing his newly shortened appetite. Realizing his surroundings, he stood upright and turned on his heel, looking about. The only thing around is the distant outline of a boy - Dick Grayson, shoulders slumped slightly but the rest of him alert and vigilant. Wally sighed to himself. It was getting harder with just the two of them.

When this mess had begun, they’d had the newest addition to the team, Cassie the Wonder Girl, with them on a mission. She was bright and chipper and a damn good fighter - but she had also been sloppy and too hopeful. Neither of the boys had been able to kill her after the bite - though both knew it would have been better. Had she been herself, the girl would have indubitably requested it or begged for it. Instead she growled and spat at them, eyes wild and not her own, before jumping and flying away. Wally and Dick never mentioned it - how there was a girl out there with abilities near or surpassing their own, braindead and hungry.

“Ever think we should find out how this started?” Dick asked as he sidled up to Wally, clapping him on the back. Wally remained mum, still regretting using his speed for the little bit as his side stitched up and rebelled against him. “I heard it was some kid from the future. Came back to save us from this, ‘paired the whole thing up in doing so.”

“Heard that too. But what’s ‘paired’?” Wally asked as he pulled himself to standing. He started walking and Dick fell into step.

“Opposite of repaired,” Dick said simply.

\---

Conner felt a hand on his shoulder and spun. He froze again - arms raised - and glared at Barbara. The girl sheepishly removed her hand and fixed her face with a small smile.

“I know you have that thing about personal space, sorry,” Barbara said, sheepish. Conner shrugged as if it did not matter - though she was right, it did bother him. He pulled himself to standing and wiped blood from his brow.  
“We should keep going,” Kaldur spoke authoritatively. Though none of the group had decided it, the Atlantean had assumed leadership. Conner rather liked it, the way it felt like the days before this whole mess. If he tried hard enough, Conner could half-convince himself this was another awful training exercise. There were nights where he hoped to wake in a sterile room with the only sign of this terrible world being dreams so strong they made his stomach clench and rebel. That never happened though, so the three trekked on.

“Think they’ll ask for our passports?” Barbara broke the silence as they walked down the highway. The boys, on either side of her, looked at her in surprise.

“What?” Conner asked flatly. Barbara huffed out a breath, half-laugh and half-annoyance. The response made Conner grit his teeth - keeping mum for the sake of Kaldur, his oldest friend left in the world.

“Y’know, cuz we’re close to the border? We’ll be back in the good ol’ U.S. of A and not...” Barbara trailed off. Conner wondered how she knew. Some Bat-trick, he assumed, or maybe one of her weird obsessions. She had those, he had learned. Obsessions with license plates - she kept asking how someone from Kansas ended up in Ottawa for days after they saw the car, until Conner barked at her to shut it - or photographs - there was a bundle of them in her bag, completely extraneous and not even of people she knew.

“That’s not funny,” Conner commented. Barbara flinched at the comment, which felt good. It was terrible and painful but between her forced chipper and Kaldur’s silence, Conner found himself falling into rudeness. It was easy and getting a rise out of Barbara was fun - to crack that solidly plastered on grin. He always felt that she was mocking M’gann with it, like the entire facade was a commentary on how M’gann had stayed upbeat to the end.

“It’s funny,” Barbara replied, smile plastered back on quickly. “You’re just an ass.”

\---

“I’m not, I’m not, I swear,” Artemis was on the verge of tears - whether they were tears of anger or fear, Jade could not tell. The younger girl sat tied to a chair, hair still too long, but stringy around her face. Her shoulder, visible in her white tank top, bore a large bloody injury. It was impossible to tell if it was a bite or a simple injury.

“They can still talk, y’know,” Jade whispered. She leaned the chair back on two legs, hands against the back of it. Her sister visibly gulped. Fear it was, Jade realized. “Those things, they can still talk and beg and swear. So why should I believe you?”

“Look, believe me or don’t, but you need to let me go. I have to get back to...” Artemis broke off, looking down. Jade tensed at the obvious distrust. Behind the pair, Roy coughed, but neither girl acknowledged the interruption.

“Who do you need to get back to? The little speedster? His dickish little bird friend? The magician?” Jade smirked when Artemis’s jaw clenched at the last word. “So the magician. I’m surprised you weren’t with Kid Crash, thought you two were in-”

“Kill me or release me,” Artemis snapped. “But if you kill me you condemn her. Zatanna’s hurt and she’ll never make it without help. I’d say you don’t want that on your conscious but I don’t think you have one.”

Jade stared at Artemis for a long second - eyes searching her younger sister’s face. Artemis stayed resolved, though part of her wished heartily to just give up and cry, to celebrate finding her sister and to mourn Zatanna. There was no chance of Jade helping someone else. Yet when Jade rolled her eyes, Artemis’s heart leaped. In their childhood, eye rolls meant begrudging games of hide-and-seek, half-hearted hair braids, unwilling selflessness from a girl who knew only how to look out for herself. Turning to Roy, Jade shrugged.

“We could go find the magician. Drag her ass back here if she isn’t one of them yet. By the time we get back, she-” Jade pushed the chair back even farther before letting it fall back onto all four legs “-will either be very pissy or in need of a bullet to the head.”

“Leave me a weapon,” Artemis requested. The words tumbled out, weeks of only interacting with her closest friend leaving her tactless.

“Sure. You can end your own misery if you need,” Roy spoke firmly, surprising Artemis with his input. He moved around Jade, one hand resting on her back, as he placed a crossbow in Artemis’s lap. “If you’re quiet and uninfected, you won’t need it.”

“Tell us how to find her,” Jade said, after glaring at Roy for a beat.

Artemis babbled, explaining quickly how to get to the homecamp they’d set up. She explained the pitfalls around, how to avoid the various traps she’d set. Jade and Roy nodded occasionally, studiously quiet as she instructed them. When she finished, Artemis felt fear climb up her throat, threatening to escape in a beg to not be left behind. She swallowed it, trying to calm herself with thoughts of Zatanna’s safety.

“Just be careful,” Artemis finished. Jade’s mouth quirked up in a smirk at that as she looked up at Roy. Roy merely rolled his eyes, leaving Artemis fairly certain she was on the outside of some memory between the two.

“We always are,” Jade sang the words, her eyes almost twinkling. She turned back to Artemis, eyes on the floor.

“I expect my crossbow back,” Roy said gruffly. Neither sister looked up at him. He huffed and walked out of the room.

“He’ll be pouty all day now,” Jade commented conspiratorially. Artemis merely stared at her, unsure what to say to that. “We’ll be quick too, don’t worry, kiddo. You won’t even notice that we’re gone.”

Jade marched out of the room without another word. Artemis watched her, watched the door as it swung shut after her. She bit her lip, unsure if releasing it would lead to tears or a smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who kudos'd (is that a word? it is now, whatever) and I would love input on this thus far. I have a loose plan and am currently about two chapters ahead of this so keep faith that I will actually finish this.


End file.
